Tuesday, August 13, 2013

DON’T THE TOP BLOOD DONORS OF MALAYSIA ALSO COUNT AS NATIONAL HEROES? – PART I.

By Mansor Puteh

Blood donation is not
exactly a sport. One does not donate blood to win awards or recognition. But
don’t the top blood donors of Malaysia
also count?

Even the Guinness Book of
World Records has an entry on the top blood donor of the world. But there is no
mention on the top blood donor of Malaysia in the Malaysia Book of
Records.

Too bad that the Malaysia
Book of Records people are not aware of this ‘feat’, because they were busy
looking elsewhere at some of the more outrageous and media attractive events to
take note of.

Athletes and other
high-achievers including those in the entertainment industry are better, in
that whatever they achieve and even do is given the right amount of media
support and coverage, and encouragement from the authorities and public sector.

The World Health
Organization (WHO) declared ‘Blood donors are Heroes!’ Yet, WHO has neglected
to take the act beyond to the next level.

In this regard, is it
also not fair for many Malaysians to ask, who are the real ‘Heroes’ of blood
donation of the country?

There are some 80,000
Malaysians who donate blood which comprises of about a mere 0.003 percent of
the population of the country, many of whom do so regularly, and the number is
increasing with the soft campaigning conducted by the National Blood Center and
Ministry of Health causing more and more people from those in secondary school
to be more aware of the benefits of blood donation.

It is therefore so
amazing how so few people in a country with an estimated population of 26
million could be supplying blood to so many, all of whom have never actually
given any due recognition or thanks to them?

Maybe they are taking for
granted with the blood that is constantly flowing in their own bodies to
sustain their health that allows them to pursue their own personal and life’s
goals, to realize that later on in their lives, it will be the blood of others
who could help to further sustain the last few weeks, months or years of their
lives before they give up on living altogether, irregardless of at what level
of society they may be at.

Unfortunately, Malaysian
television is slow in using blood donating as the main or even a subplot in any
of their programs, especially dramas and documentaries.

Ironically, many local
television dramas prefer to show acts which do encourage the spilling of blood
in cruel and senseless action dramas without the producers and television
stations not realizing the negative implications on society.

And of course I had not
seen any of those officers in the many charitable, social and even cultural and
artistic organizations who like to preach acts of charity and decorum in
society and a refined lifestyle and taste and the humanity they often like to
show in their works, coming to donate blood in all the years I have been doing
that.

It is therefore easier
for anyone to claim to be humane and charitable and compassionate and kind, but
it is not so, to translate it into action.

I have also not seen any
religious preacher of all religious affiliation donating blood.

Yet, they are the ones
who like to preach to the others about the virtues of helping society and
strangers, yet, they have found it not convenient to actually do what they like
to preach about.

Some of them only prefer
to register themselves to be organ donors, but unfortunately, this act only
amounts to one having to sign a declaration and getting a certificate to say
that he is an organ donor.

Compared to the regular
blood donors who have to either take the bus, train and drive to the blood
center every two weeks, and go through the process of donation which takes from
twenty minutes to two hours including waiting time, and not including travel and
personal time.

The blood donors would go
to the NationalBloodCenter
or Pusat Darah Negara in Jalan Temerloh off Jalan Tun Razak every two weeks for
years. Some do so every three months.

Many donate blood irregularly because their work schedule does not allow them
to do so often unlike some others who make it a point to donate blood and their
daily activities are around this.

So over the last many
years, we now have people who have already donate blood from 300 to 500 times
or more.

Some of them have stopped
donating blood when they reach the age of 60 or if they choose to go on
donating blood, they can do so till the age of 65.

But they have to undergo
some medical tests and if they are found to be healthy, they are allowed to
donate for five more years, during which time they can donate another 100
times.